I've made french macarons many many times. My first few attempts ended in misery - broken shells, cracks, hollows, no feet. Everything that could go wrong in a bad macaron - did.
However, I never stopped trying. Who knows how much pounds of almond flour/meal and powdered sugar I sieved. But, it was not in vain. I learned so much from all these failures, and I want to share my tips and tricks with you.
Today, I make perfect macarons every time. Not a single crack in any batch. Every batch has feet. They are perfect.
When I first started, I did use recipes that you find everywhere online. The ones that sift powdered sugar and almond flour together. The ones that get folded into stiffed egg whites. They failed me. I switched to recipes that used meringue powder. I even did Pierre Herme's recipe, that require boiling sugar and water to a syrup stage. I did everything.
The recipe that folds almond meal/icing sugar into stiffed egg whites never worked for me. I tried them a thousand times. What irony - they are now my favorite macaron recipe.
The meringue powder recipe was the first success for me. However, those produced hollows for me. Hollows are the air pocket gap between the shell and chewy center.
The recipe that requires the sugar syrup also worked. They also produced hollows and lopsided feet on the macarons. One side had more "feet" than the other. I had perfect ones in some batches. But I disliked making syrup. It was one step I wanted to remove. Making macarons is already tedious enough, I don't want to add another step that could go wrong.
So I went back to the first recipe I've tried. I modified it just a little bit. From all the mistakes and tricks I've learned - My first recipe worked. I was thrilled. The recipe that is the most simplest, also produced the best macarons for me now. Ironic that I use to hate it so much.
Ok, let me share the recipe first. Then I will share my tips and tricks.
Ingredients:
3 large egg whites, ~95-100g, aged overnight
1/4 tps cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar, 50g
pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar, 200g
1 cup almond flour, 120g
Directions:
1. Sift the salt, powdered sugar, and almond flour into a large container. Discard any clumps in the sieve.
2. Using a whisk attachment, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add sugar in 3 batches. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add gel food coloring, if desired, whisk again.
3. Add 1/3 of the almond mixture into the egg whites. Fold until incorporated - about 15-20 turns. Then add another 1/3. Fold again. Repeat one last time. It will take about 65 folds for the right consistency.
4. Pipe small circles onto a baking sheet/tray lined with a baking mat or parchment paper. I used 3 half-sheets/trays.
5. Let rest until a skin forms. It should no longer be sticky. 30-60 minutes.
6. Bake at 275F for 17 minutes.
7. Let cool completely before attempting to peel them off.
This weekend, I made 3 full batches of that recipe. Chocolate, lemon, and raspberry flavor ones. Every macaron had feet. Not a single crack was found.
Okay! Now for the tips and tricks. I guarantee you can get perfect macarons too.
Tips and Tricks for perfect Macarons:
1. Buy/Get a food scale. Macarons are so delicate. You want precise measurements.
2. Almond flour can be made at home or bought at a store. Regardless of how you obtained it, sieve only the almond flour/meal before starting the recipe. You should remove all the almond bits that are not powdered-like. You want to start your recipe with real almond flour, not just finely grounded almonds. Now, from the sieved/sifted almond flour, measure out the 120 grams to start the recipe.
3. Aged egg whites are important. Don't use fresh eggs. Crack and separate your eggs whites into a small bowl. Loosely cover it with a paper towel on your counter overnight.
4. Always sift your icing sugar and almond flour, even if no clumps are visible. This will prevent cracks.
5. Beat your egg whites until foamy before adding sugar. Foamy like a thick cloud in a bubble bath. Then add your sugar in 3 batches. This helps dissolve the sugar.
6. Beat your egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stiff but not dry. It should still be shiny and glossy. Add gel food coloring now if desired. Whisk to blend.
7. The consistency you are looking for after folding all the almond mixture is "magma." It should flow like magma from your spatula when you lift some batter up with your spatula. A ribbon should also form in the batter when the magma falls down. This takes me about 65 folds.
8. The batter should not be super thick, or too runny. Too thick, and you will have peaks in your piped circles. Too runny and you will never have perfect circles. A piped circle should lose any peaks within 45 seconds if your batter is correct.
9. After you pipe your circles, bang your baking sheet gently on the counter several times to pop any air bubbles. Do this to all your baking sheets.
10. Let the skin form. This can take 30 to 60 minutes. A skin should form around the macaron. The sides and top should not be sticky. Touch it before baking.
11. After the skin forms, preheat your oven to 275F. Bake for 10 minutes. Then spin/rotate the tray, and bake for another 7 minutes. This ensures even browning and prevents the oven from getting too hot. If it is too hot, the macarons will crack. Double pan your sheets if necessary.
12. After the macarons are done baking. Let them cool completely. If they are still warm, it won't peel off the parchment paper.
I hope my tips and tricks help you. They have definitely helped me obtain perfect macarons.
Do you want to know what it looks like when it's baking? I do. I sit in front of my oven to watch the magic happen every time. It only takes about 8 minutes for magic to happen.
From these piped circles:
to these feeted macaron shells:
After the shell forms, I throw them in the oven:
After 2-3 minutes of baking, they are still pretty flat:
At 4 minutes, they get a little taller:
At 5-6 minutes:
At 7-8 minutes:
Completely baked and cooling:
Watching the first batch form feet is always my favorite part in making macarons. I sent my friend some macarons via snail-mail, aka the USPS. I hope they arrive safely. I will find out on Wednesday if you can send/mail macarons.
From my 3 batches of macarons, I made about 120 filled cookies. Due to being tired and lazy. I chose to fill them with fillings I can get from a jar. I chose nutella for chocolate, lemon curd for lemon, and raspberry preserves for raspberry. Next time I will make ganache and flavored buttercream.
I hope my post helps you make perfect macarons too!
